“Logging On Logged Off the Weight” for Amy S.

As Amy surfed the Internet for information on various topics, she never dreamed how one Web site would soon change her life. She happened to run across the weight loss Web site and was intrigued. “I liked the fact that there was a lot of information up front. This online weight loss program wasn’t trying to hide anything, so I decided to give it a try.” But it was more than the “old college try” – Amy put her heart and soul into making healthy diet and exercise changes. Pretty soon she was logging her foods in the Online Food Diary two to three times a day, using the message boards and charting her weight with the “Weigh In” calculator.

Amy had watched her mother deal with diabetes and high blood pressure and didn’t want to face the same fate. Although Amy had wanted to lose weight for a long time, like a lot of people she was at a loss as to where to begin. “But with this program it was simple, to-the-point and easy to understand. And, I had no idea how many calories I was consuming. I was shocked to find it was close to 3,000 per day!” Amy notes that she was religious about logging on to the Web site. Each and every day she would track her calories using the Online Food Diary and the Food Calorie Calculator. She also started eating breakfast and reduced the amount of fat and calories in her diet. She even adjusted her favorite recipes to make them lower in fat and calories. According to Amy, her family never even knew the difference.

“The best part is that I never felt deprived. I learned that instead of having a plain sandwich, I could ‘load up’ the sandwich with lots of veggies. Or I would make fajitas with low-fat tortillas, reduced-fat cheese and lots of vegetables.” And, although Amy still snacks, she snacks on “better-for-you” foods and tracks those calories in the food diary. But Amy’s eating habits weren’t the only thing that changed for the better, Amy also started to exercise. “I didn’t have any energy and simple tasks were starting to become more difficult. I knew that I had to do something.” So, she started walking (even though it was 30° F outside). Soon, a one-block walk turned into a one-mile walk, and the one-mile walk turned into a mile and a half jog. Amy has also started playing softball and has several step-aerobic tapes that she enjoys.

As Amy started to “log off the weight,” her husband began to take notice. And pretty soon, he had made lots of changes to his eating patterns and exercise habits (for the better, of course). Together, they’ve lost a total of 82 pounds. Amy’s husband went from a 40-inch waist to a 34 – a size he has not worn since high-school – and has lost 45 pounds. Amy has gone from a size 12/14 to a size 4 and has lost 27 pounds. In addition to new clothes, Amy has also had to buy a new watchband and new ring, due to her smaller, trimmer size.

Amy sums up her success: “I am confident that the changes I have made are changes that I will keep for the rest of my life. I’ve seen other people lose weight on those ‘no-carb’ diets, but what happens when you put the carbs back in? The difference between those other diets and this program is that this is something I can (and plan) to do for the rest of my life.”

Congratulations, Amy, (and husband) – you’re an inspiration to all of us!